1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to garage doors and garage door bottom seals. More particularly, the present invention relates to a garage door bottom seal retainer that can be installed onto a bottom surface of a garage door without the use of any tools or fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Garages are commonly used not only to store automobiles and other items, but also as transition zones between the insides and outsides of houses. Therefore, garages need some degree of protection from weather and other elements. A commonly used component used to provide this protection is a seal secured to a bottom surface of a garage door. The seal helps the garage door keep out noise, rain, wind, and other elements.
Currently, there are three types of retainers commonly available to attach a seal to a bottom surface of a garage door. A first type is an aluminum extrusion that is screwed onto the bottom surface with metal screws. One concern with these types of retainers is that the metal screws extend upward through a lower section of the door and are exposed and thus present a risk of injury to persons gripping the bottom surface of the door during opening and closing.
Another concern is electrolysis corrosion caused because the metal screws are typically formed of a dissimilar metal as compared with the aluminum extrusion. Screw-type fasteners are also labor intensive to install and destroy the integrity of pre-painted steel door panels, exposing the panel material to oxidation and producing loose shavings.
A second type of seal retainer is a plastic extrusion that is screwed onto a bottom surface of a garage door with metal screws. This type also suffers from the exposed screw problem described above.
A third type of seal retainer is an aluminum extrusion that is crimped into a bottom surface of a garage door. While this type does have some advantages, it requires a special purpose-built crimping tool.
All three types of retainers discussed above complicate installing a garage door by requiring tools, such as, a screwdriver or a crimping tool, to secure a seal to a bottom surface of the garage door. Additionally, some retainers require fasteners, which have additional concerns as discussed above.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved garage door bottom seal retainer that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.
The garage door bottom seal retainer of the present invention overcomes the above-identified problems and provides a distinct advance in the art. More particularly the present invention provides a garage door bottom seal retainer that can be used to secure a seal onto a bottom surface of a garage door without the use of any tools or fasteners and that does not present exposed screws that may cause injury.
The retainer is preferably used with a seal comprising a cylindrical cushion and a retaining member with an exterior shoulder and an interior shoulder. The retainer preferably retains the seal on a garage door having a bottom surface that comprises an exterior lip with an exterior shelf and an interior lip with an interior shelf.
The preferred garage door bottom seal retainer broadly comprises a seal cavity, a exterior tension member, and an interior tension member. The seal cavity runs substantially the entire length of the retainer, which runs substantially the entire length of the bottom surface of the garage door. The seal cavity includes a seal opening, through which the retaining member of the seal is inserted, in order to mate the seal with the retainer.
The exterior tension member also runs substantially the entire length of the retainer. The exterior tension member includes an exterior gripping edge, which is supported by the exterior lip of the bottom surface of the garage door.
The interior tension member also runs substantially the entire length of the retainer. The interior tension member includes an interior gripping edge, which is supported by the interior lip of the bottom surface of the garage door.
In use, an installer slides the retaining member of the seal into the seal cavity of the retainer along its entire length. Then the installer seats the exterior gripping edge of the exterior tension member upon the exterior shelf of the exterior lip along it entire length. The installer then applies force to the interior tension member so as to seat the interior gripping edge into place upon the interior shelf of the interior lip.
In this manner, the seal is secured to the retainer and the retainer is then secured to the garage door. It can be seen that this is done without the use of any tools or fasteners and overcomes the limitations of the prior art.